The Gaza crisis has brought Israel closer to the west, but further away from the rest of the world | Musab Younis

As this war continues, countries outside the global elite are questioning the legitimacy of the international order

When the Israeli defence minister declared on 9 October a complete siege" in which no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel" would be allowed into blockaded Gaza, and called its 2.3 million inhabitants human animals", there was not a single protest from an official in a western capital. It is easy to see Palestinians as standing alone against Israel's military onslaught. Egypt and Israel, at peace since 1980, jointly blockade Gaza. In recent years, the region's US-backed authoritarian governments such as the United Arab Emirates have been signing a series of accords to normalise relations with Israel without any gains for the Palestinians. The widespread support that Palestinians received from Arab governments five decades ago has virtually evaporated.

Yet looked at on a global scale, there is overwhelming support for Palestinian self-determination, and condemnation of Israel's latest attack on Palestinians in Gaza. Currently, 139 out of 192, or 72%, of UN member states recognise Palestine, against the express wishes of the US and Israel. This constitutes almost the entirety of Asia, Latin America and Africa, along with several European countries such as Sweden. Recent additions include Mexico, which broke with decades of fealty to the US by recognising Palestine in June.

Musab Younis is senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Queen Mary University of London. His is the author of On the Scale of the World: The Formation of Black Anticolonial Thought